UPDATED ---------> Going to EUROPE! NEED HELP! :-)

[j33pguy]

Eagle/everyone,

thanks for your post. i did check all of the hotels you had listed. nice hotels but we wanted something that was a bit closer to the center and...sadly....we ended up paying the price.

As of right now, we have done the following:


Booked paris hotel (made a big mistake with this booking. very big) at the pullman hotel for $860
Booked paris-rome air for 200 Euros
Booked Rome hotel for $400

have not booked but will book rome to venice rail for $200 for both of us.

booked venice to prage air for 78 euros for both of us.
booked prague hotel for $222
booked prague to warsaw air for $385

STILL NEED TO BOOK:

Venice hotel (Eagle, you recommended Albergo Doni and Hotel al Piave. second one is really pricy but the first one is ok. how far from city center is the first hotel? what is the city center called? (where do we want to be near?)


thoughts on what we've booked so far? (i know we F-ed up on the paris hotel and paid too much for a hotel that's not too close to the eiffel tower but...)

[WillTravel]

If you are on the main island of Venice, you can't go wrong. Venice has six sestieri (districts): Canneregio, Dorsoduro, Castello, San Polo, San Marco, and Santa Croce. These all have somewhat different local atmospheres, but all have some very nice points. San Marco is the very most central, but given the small size of Venice you can get almost anywhere easily.

Albergo Doni is nicely situated, in any event, within a few minutes of St. Mark's.

For the Paris hotel, did you bid on Priceline and then get fooled by the zone that includes "Eiffel Tower", not realizing that the zone actually includes an area outside Paris? That's unfortunate, but it is a common error. You can still take the metro, it will just take longer. And I think that at least you are well-situated if you want to visit Versailles, and your hotel does have a swimming pool.

[Eagle]

j33pguy, good to see that the arrangements are falling into place.

Regarding the location of Albergo Doni, it's only about a five minute walk from Piazza San Marco from what I recall. It's not a "fancy" 5-star property by any means, but provides good, basic accomodation. A "continental breakfast" is provided (a typical Italian style breakfast). I believe it's located in an old Palace.

You could also have a look at www.locandacorrer.com or www.hotelfontana.it or www.venicelaresidenza.com to see if those might work for you.

Regarding "where do we want to be near", my choice would be San Marco (hopefully the others will add their comments on this). There are lots of restaurants, of course St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace (Il Palazzo Ducale), Accademia (art museum) and of course the Bell Tower to get a great view (stand in line to ride the elevator - you DON'T have to walk to the top!).

Of course, you'll have to take a Vaporetto to reach San Marco (or most other locations) when you arrive at Venezia S.L. You won't have any trouble seeing the Canal through the glass doors when you arrive. The #82 or #1 (slower) are good ones for transport to San Marco. If they happen to drop passengers at Rialto, that's not too much of a problem as it's an easy walk. On my last visit, there was a "strike" or something and managers were driving the boats. They would only take passengers as far as Rialto. I usually pack a photocopy of a Map showing the Hotel location, so it wasn't any trouble to find my way around. For San Marco, you'll want to disembark at the San Zaccaria stop.

One point regarding the Gondola rides - they're expensive! Of course, for those travelling with their "significant other", the romantic aspect often outweighs cost so they do it anyway. I travel solo at the moment, so didn't bother. Still, it was interesting to watch hordes of bored tourists floating by while being serenaded with yet another rendition of "O Sole Mio". I had the impression that some were a bit embarrassed at being watched by others during their "Gondola experience". Perhaps my impression was wrong?

Regarding the Hotels you've booked, I don't have much information. The Hotel Pullman appears to have three properties in the Paris area. I had a look at the Rive Gauche location, and it seems to be quite "upscale". Probably not something I could afford!!! You didn't say which Hotels you've booked in Rome or Prague?

Cheers!

[j33pguy]

:-( :-( :-(
the Albergo Doni hotel doesn't have any rooms available from may19th to the 21st :-( this would have been a PERFECT place for our budget and interests :-(

right now, (WILLTRAVEL helped us with this), we have a choice between Ariel Silva (134 USD/night for two people with breakfast) and Hotel Antico Capon (110 USD/night for two)

given the location of each, which would you choose?


ps. the paris hotel was the Pullman Rive Gauche.

[Eagle]

j33pguy, glad to hear your Hotel situation in Venice is getting sorted with W.T.'s help. I'm not familiar with either of the ones you listed, so can't offer any advice. Let us know which one you choose, and more importantly how you liked it (in the "Just Back Report" section of the Boards).

Regarding the Pullman Hotel in Paris, it was the Rive Gauche property I was looking at. As mentioned, that's a bit pricey for my budget. Again, let us know what your experience is at that Hotel, as it will probably benefit others here.

Cheers!

[j33pguy]

i will be sure to do that. btw, i picked the Ariel hotel in Venice.

booked everything....the only thing left is the 4.5 hour train from rome to venice which i will buy tomorrow for 100 USD per person. seemed to be the cheapest i could find it.